Grate.



Patented July 3,. I900. .1. .P. WEBER.

anus.

(Application filed Dec. 10, 1897.)

( No Model.)

0.. WASHINGTON n c V having teeth which are constructed as hereinspecified, and, further, embodying a construc-" 2O NITE STATE Er ca.-

JOSEPH PETER WEBER, OF-ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters'Patent No. 652,823, dated July 3,1900.

' Application filed December 10, 1897. Serial No. 661,863. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH PETER WEBER, a citizen of the United States,residing at St. Paul, Ramsey county, Minnesota, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Grates, of which the following is aspecification sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable thoseskilled in the art to make and use the same. I

This invention relates to stoves and furnaces, and more especially tothe grates that are used therein; and the object of the same is toproduce a grate adapted for use in a stove or furnace for burning woo'd,large or small coal, screenings, pea-coal, and other combustibles.

To this end the invention consists in a grate tion of partssubstantially as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and asillustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein-- Figure 1 is aperspective view of this improved grate looking from the top and front.Fig. 2 is a similar View looking from the bottom and front. Fig. 3 is alongitudinal section through the frame, showing. one gratebar and thestub-shafts of the latter and the position and use of the locking-pin.Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken just in rear of the front of the frame.

Referring to the said drawings, the letter D designates the front bar ofa frame, of which D is the rear, and d d are the ends, all inclosing thegrate-bars proper. In the accompanying drawings this frame is shown ofsubstantially rectangular contour but it will be understood that by theuse of properlyshaped plates, fire-bricks, and the like the whole couldbe readily adapted to a cylindrical or other-shaped fire-pot withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

A, B, and O are the grate-bars, having trunnions a at their extremitieswhich are journaled in open-topped bearings in plates L L,

that stand just inside and are securedto the ends (I d of the frame, andthese grate-bars stand slightly remote from and parallel with each otherthroughout the length of the frame. On the grate-bars are intermeshingteeth T, and the lower edge of the front bar D of the frame (and therear bar, too, if desired) may have similar teeth T and T, spaced andlocated so as to in term esh with the teeth T on the adjacent grate-bar.The body of each gratebar is a rod cylindric in cross-section andpreferably of greater diameter than the trunnions a at the extremitiesof its axis, and on this rod the teeth T may be cast or formed in anysuitable manner. Each tooth is substantially diamond-shaped in contourwith all angles rounded off, and its shortest diameter is coincidentwith that of the rod and normally vertical, While its longer diameter istherefore normally horizontal. The lateral ends of the tooth taperoutwardly-that is to say, their upper and lower edges incline orconverge outwardly from the rod on either side of the latter-and alledges are flattened, as shown. By this construction it will be clearthat along the top of each grate-bar there is a straight horizontal linecomprising the rounded-off upper angles of the teeth and the roundedupper sides of the rod where exposed between them, and this line forms asupport for the fuel at all times, even when the grate is being agitatedin the act of shaking. One of the front trunnions (preferably that onthe central grate-bar) is continued through the end at in a shaft, as E,having a squared or angular extremity e for the reception of aproperly-shaped shaker, and this shaft also preferably carries an indexK, moving over a scale marked, as at F, on the end of the grateframe.The index and scale are useful'for the purpose of indicating when theteeth T on the grate-bars stand each truly andclosely interlocked or intermeshed with the space between the two teeth next adjacent withoutthenecessity for the operator looking into the stove or furnace toascertain, and they also permit him from the exterior to know throughhow great an arc the teeth are turning during the operation of shaking;To this end one extreme of the scale maybe marked with the word open, asindicating that all the teeth T stand vertical, as in dumping, and theother extreme may bear the word shut, as indicating that the teeth areall horizontal and as closely interlocked as possible,as when Very finecoal or screenings are being'burned.

Depending from each grate-bar, preferably near the rear end thereof, isa lug J, and I is a link pivotally connecting all these lugs, so

as to cause the bars to rotate or oscillate in unison. In thepresentinstance I have shown but three bars; but it willbe understoodthat a greater or smaller number could be. employed.

In operation, the grate being placed within the stove or furnace andsurrounded with firebrick, if need be, the fuel is laid and lighted, thecombustible material being wood, fine or coarse coal, coke, peat,screenings, pea-coal, or any desirable and suitable fuel, and when it isdesired to shake the stove the shaker (not shown) is applied andoscillated. Care should be taken that the operation of shaking does notcause the teeth to open sufficiently far to permit the passage betweenthem of the live coalsor embers unless it is desired to dump the fire,and the index and scale will be found useful in keeping this check onthe operator. As the teeth on one side of one grate-bar rise those onthe opposite and adjaeent side of the next bar descend,and hence thereis caused an interlocking or intermeshing movement of one set of teeththrough the other set and back as the shaker is reciprocated, whichmovement I have found to be highly useful and advantageous. When finecoal or screenings are used, this absence of any opening between theteeth of the grate other than that ever present by reason of theirlooseness is an advantage, because the unconsumed fuel is not lost. Thisconstruction has a further advantage in that the admission of air, andhence the draft, is not altered either during the process of shaking orafterward, and yet if it were desired to change the draft the grate-barscould be rocked to such an extent greater than usual and left standingwith openings of considerable size through the grate.

It is often found desirable to lock the grate in some Way in order toprevent it from moving so as to open or close the teeth with respect toeach other to a greater or less degree, and any suitable device may beemployed as such lock. However, I have shown herein a pin G, slidinglongitudinally inward through an opening in one end (I and its adjacentplate L and adapted to engage one of a series of holes Q in thegrate-bar opposite, so as to set and hold this bar, and hence all ofthem, in any desired position. This pin may be operated by a handle H,pivoted between its ends to the front of the frame, with one endconnected with the pin and the other pressed outward by a spring for thepurpose of holding it to its work, and when it is desired to shake ordump the handle is depressed, so as to withdraw the pin, and releasedafter the operation is over.

\Vhat is claimed as new is- 1. In a grate, the combination with a frame,a series of grate-bars having their cylindric bodies journaled therein,and means for holding said bodies in adjusted position; of a series ofsingle teeth within the frame and aseries of double teeth on saidgrate-bar bodies, all intermeshing with each other, each tooth havingits side faces flat and parallel and its upper and lower edgesconverging outwardly from said bodies and its rounded outer ends fittingcloselyinto the space between the similar members next adjacent, all asand for the purpose set forth.

2. In a grate, the combination with the frame, a series of grate-barshaving their cylindric bodies journaled therein, means for causing saidbodies to oscillate in unison, and a locking device for removablyholding the bars against such oscillation and in various adjustedpositions; of a series of double teeth on said grate-bar bodies,allintermeshing with each other, each tooth having its side faces flat andparallel and its upper and lower edges converging outwardly from saidbodies and its rounded outer ends fitting closely into the space betweenthe similar members next adjacent, all as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand inprescnce of twosubscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH PETER WEBER.

\Vitnesses:

L. FEESER, J r., Gno. E. SCALES.

